How The Flash Is Changing Cisco For Season 3

The Flash will make some big changes to old characters when it returns to The CW for Season 3. Thanks to the Flashpoint plot stemming from Barry's race back in time to change the past, the present will be a far cry from what it would have been without Barry meddling with the timeline. As we learned from the trailer, the Flashpoint version of Cisco will look especially unfamiliar. According to actor Carlos Valdes, Flashpoint Cisco chose a very different path. Valdes had this to say about Cisco in the beginning Season 3:

The character I'm playing is still Cisco Ramon, but it's obviously an alternate reality version of him in which he is still a genius and still posses a technological prowess about him. Now though he's able to cash in on that prowess and build his way up the ladder to become the richest man in America. He's a billionaire! He's created all these things and these apps at Ramon Industries - which looks a lot like S.T.A.R. Labs - and he's ostentatious, not afraid to flaunt his wealth which makes for interesting colors and relationship dynamics. Barry has to struggle with the fact that this is not the Cisco he knows and there's a bit of an antagonistic energy to this Cisco. It's what makes the beginning of Season 3 so interesting.

Cisco Ramon has always been a genius, and Barry would have failed and/or died very early in his career as the Flash if not for Cisco's techno-wizardry. It's always been clear that Cisco could have made a fortune for himself if he chose a less altruistic and academic career path. Flashpoint affords us the opportunity to see the version of Cisco that would have been born if he'd pursued business instead of research, and it sounds like he won't have much in common with who he became without Flashpoint.

Frankly, it may be hard to blame Cisco for flaunting some of his wealth. Nobody becomes the richest man in America without putting in a lot of work. No matter how annoying he may be with billions to his name, we should probably expect that he earned his money. The guy deserves more credit for his work than he'll ever get as Barry's tech support. Flashpoint Cisco may be an arrogant and ostentatious jerk, but he's still the same genius that he was in the original timeline.

Only time will tell how much of Flashpoint Cisco will carry over to the rest of the season even after Barry mostly fixes the timeline. CW president Mark Pedowitz has already revealed that Flashpoint will only last for a couple of episodes. Still, Carlos Valdes went on during his appearance at the recent Dragon Con in Atlanta (via Collider) to tease that the effects of Flashpoint will be felt throughout the season even after Barry tweaks the timeline more or less back to normal. We may see more of Flashpoint Cisco in current Cisco as the episodes pass.

The Flash returns to The CW on Tuesday, October 4 at 8 p.m. ET. Check out our breakdown of what we know so far about The Flash Season 3, and don't forget to take a look at our fall TV premiere schedule to see when your other favorite shows will be back on the airwaves.